Traditional nail enamel can contain a large amount of nitrocellulose, primarily because nitrocellulose provides good adhesion of the compositions to nails upon application. Such conventional nail polish compositions (with or without nitrocellulose) require solvent-based removal products to remove them from nails. However, it is desirable to avoid such solvent-based removers both from a personal perspective (to avoid damage to nails) and an environmental perspective (to avoid damage to the environment).
Other types of nail polish compositions exist. For example, UV (ultraviolet) gel compositions are known. UV gel compositions typically consist of a layer of basecoat for adhesion on the nails, two color coats to enhance the color, and one top coat for shine. Each coating needs to be cured with a UV Lamp or UV LED. A UV gel composition set is a system that contains base coat, color coat and top coat layers. The UV gel composition set's adhesion on the nail and the cohesion among the layers is so strong that it is difficult to remove such compositions from nails. To remove such UV gel products from nails, it is usually required to soak nails with harsh solvent such as acetone for 10 minutes or more to effect removal. Frequent and/or prolonged use of such solvents in this manner can damage nails such as, for example, by making them dry and brittle. At the same time, the removal process can be time-consuming.
In the past, proposed solutions have focused on altering the composition of the UV gel layers themselves by including additives which are soluble in solvents like acetone, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, etc. to the layers. For instance, US2011082228A, US2011081306A, US2011060065A, US2011182838A, US2011182838A, and US2011274633A relate to the use of a non-reactive, solvent-dissolvable polymer such as cellulose acetate butyrate, cellulose acetate propionate, and mixtures to enhance removal properties. Adding such non-reactive, solvent-dissolvable compounds improves the soaking of the coatings by solvent and hence can speed up the removal process. The speed of removal depends on the type and the quantity of additives introduced in the composition. However, the use of solvent to remove the composition is still required. Moreover, the improvement of nail safety is not perceived.
There remains a need for UV gel compositions which are safe and adhere well to nails, yet which can be easily removed with less damage to nails and with more time efficiency and without sacrificing wear properties.